by Mark Silva
James Traficant, the former Ohio congressman released from prison last week after serving seven years for racketeering, bribery, obstruction of justice and tax evasion, suggests that he hasn't ruled out running for the House again.
The former nine-term Democrat from Youngstown, who refers to his former prison inmates as "almost like family,'' also suggests that he hasn't changed all that much.
"From this day forward, I don't give a damn what anybody does to me,'' he tells FOX News Channel's Greta Van Susteren in an episode of On the Record airing tonight. " I'm going to say what I think is right, I'm going to do what I think is right..... And if it offends some people, then so be it. You see, because I'm still, I guess, the same jackass I was."
His sense of political correctness runs true as ever, suggesting that even "Stevie Wonder could see America's troubles now.''
"I don't know yet,'' Traficant says about another run for Congress. "If I do run, get your best hold, because I will be running downhill with my tails flapping in the wind wide open....
"I have some grudges, and I want to go at them... They came to me and said if I said I was guilty, I might even get a pardon. And I told them to shove the pardon up their derriere sideways."
On matters geopolitical, Traficant maintains that Israel "has a powerful stranglehold on the American government. They control both members of the House, the House and the Senate. They have us involved in wars in which we have little or no interest."
But he is not an Anti-Semite: "No, I'm not. And that's exactly what they're going to say. And I expect that."
On his prison years: "I come from seven years up at Rochester... a lot of good guys in there. They're sort of like family in a way. It's a different experience....
"The first place I went was Allenwood, and I think the reason I went there is there were a lot of illegal immigrants there. And they knew I had the troops on the border... I think I was put in a position to be hurt.... Then I went to a place called Ray Brook up in upstate New York, known as 'The Gladiator School.' There's a lot of violence.
"It was a medium high,'' he explains. "Most political figures go to some camps in country clubs. I didn't... I mean, I was a prisoner, but I understood the dynamics of prison life. And now what you have is, they want to keep the prisons open, keep the jobs going. They're putting 20, 30 years on some of these young people, and it's out of hand."
Comments
Why even give this idiot any print? whiteagle38
Posted by: Raymond L. Juneau | September 10, 2009 3:06 PM
Now if they strip him of any pension monies then justice will have been served. I'm sick and tired of these
politicians getting wealthy on the publics dime. Case in point Rep, Charley Rangel, and this s.o.b.
has the nerve to lie right to your face. When in the hell is this guy going to
be removed from the House of Representatives?
Posted by: Paul | September 10, 2009 5:57 PM
One thing this proves:
He has a better wigmaker than Ted Olson.
Posted by: ornery | September 11, 2009 4:15 AM
So Traficant's still a jackass? How is that newsworthy? Beam me up, Mr. Speaker.
Posted by: Grumpy | September 11, 2009 10:23 AM
From what I recall about Traficanti, "jackass" is THE KINDEST word I could think of to describe him. It's up to the fine people of Ohio as to whether he gets his political career back or not, but OH, how I hope they vote for somebody else!
Posted by: Op109 | September 11, 2009 11:35 AM